Dunscore in Dumfries and Galloway

Visit Dunscore and the surrounding villages and stay in bed & breakfast accommodation:

Dunscore, Dumfries and Galloway. A village in a rural agricultural area, Dunscore is notable for the literary associations of the parish.

On the banks of the Nith, some 5 miles East of Dunscore, is Ellisland, the farm that Robert Burns rented from 1788—91, and where he lived happily for a time with Jean Armour and their children; it was here that he wrote “Tam o' Shanter”.

Some 6 miles West of Dunscore, in very bleak surroundings, is Craigenputtock Farm, where Thomas Carlyle took his wife. They lived there 1828—34, and during this time he wrote Sartor Resartus. On his death. the estate was bequeathed to Edinburgh University to found bursaries.

Nearby Loch Urr has good fishing. On an artificial island in the loch stands a rectangular build-up. It is connected to the shore by a submerged stone causeway, and is possibly of Viking origin.